Bells Payroll Services

In spring 2017 the way the government funds apprenticeships in England is changing. Some employers will be required to contribute to a new apprenticeship levy, and there will be changes to the funding for apprenticeship training for all employers.
We are introducing the apprenticeship levy on 6 April 2017. The levy requires all employers operating in the UK, with a pay bill over £3 million each year, to invest in apprenticeships.
The levy will not affect the way you fund training for apprentices who started an apprenticeship programme before 1 May 2017. You’ll need to carry on funding training for these apprentices under the terms and conditions that were in place at the time the apprenticeship started.
When you need to pay it
As an employer, you’ll have to pay Apprenticeship Levy each month...

A zero hours contract is generally understood to be a contact between employer and a worker where:
The employer is not obliged to provide any minimum working hours and,
The employee is not obliged to accept any work offered
As of 2015 regulations removed The Exclusivity Terms, which used to prevent workers on zero hours contracts from working for another employer, and it now unlawful for an employer to make an employee suffer a detriment because they work for another employer.
There is no qualifying period to bring an unfair dismissal claim for this reason, and any claim made to a tribunal will depend on the tribunal finding an exclusivity clause in the employment contract.
Most zero hours contracts will give staff ‘worker’ employment status.
Zero hours workers have the same employment rights as regular workers,...

The National Living Wage is currently set at £7.20 per hour for people aged 25 and over. This was introduced in April 2016 by the government.
This is going to rise in April 2017 to £7.50 per hour.
The National Minimum Wage is still in place for people under the age of 25....

As of April 2016 apprentices under 25 years of age were no longer required to pay (employer) NIC or secondary class 1 contributions on earnings up to the Upper Earnings Limit (UEL) – which is £43K per annum, or otherwise known as (AUST) Apprentice Upper Secondary Threshold.
This is a significant benefit and the objective is to support youth employment. The new regulations were introduced to demonstrate the government’s commitment to ensuring more people can access high quality apprenticeships, and to support employers who provide apprenticeship to young people.
If you have any questions about taking on an apprentice and the pros and cons for your business please do not hesitate to contact us....

Childcare vouchers are a government initiative aimed at helping working parents.
Parents can receive up to £243 per month of childcare vouchers from their employer, free of tax and national insurance.
Most childcare vouchers are provided through salary sacrifice, which means the employee’s gross salary is reduced by the amount of the childcare voucher, before tax and NIC is deducted.
This is an earnings based system as follows:
Basic Rate Taxpayers can receive a maximum of £243 per month in childcare vouchers
Higher Rate Taxpayers can receive a maximum of £124 per month in childcare vouchers
Additional Rate Taxpayers can receive a maximum of £110 per month in childcare vouchers
Employers can contact Childcare Voucher agencies such as Kiddivouchers or Enred to setup a scheme for their employees....

There are two different types of sick pay one is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and the criteria for this is:
Earnings have to be at least £112 per week before tax
Employee has to be sick for at least 4 days in a row, and SSP is only payable from the 4th day of sickness
The individual has be classed as an employee and not be self-employed or similar
Reporting the sickness to your employer ideally on the first day and at least within the first 7 days of sickness
Amount Paid
£88.45 per week
Paid for a maximum of 28 weeks
First 3 days of sickness not payable under SSP
The other type of sick pay is company sick pay – and this is purely dependant on what is in the employer’s employment contracts. If you need advice...

Paying employees cash is not illegal, you can pay your employees via various methods via online banking, cheque or cash.
However, you must be aware of the tax and NIC implications of how much you are paying an employee and all amounts still need to be reported to the HMRC via Real Time Information. For example, if you pay an employee £500 cash per week, you need to know how much tax and national insurance you will need to hand over to HMRC on their behalf.
So if you have an accountant or a payroll agent running your payroll for you and ensuring the correct amounts are grossed up through payroll and the correct tax and NIC is calculated, deducted and paid across to the HMRC and reported through Real Time Information, or...

The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals has indicated that they are not yet aware of any direct changes to payroll regulations caused by the UK’s decision to leave the EU. The truth is that we do not yet know what impact this will have on payroll regulations. The payroll industry is continually bombarded with changes of legislation affecting employers in the UK and it is our job to ensure all our clients and the employers we act for are fully compliant at all times. Many employment regulations originate from the EU but also have UK influences. For example, the EU introduced the right to employees paid holiday leave. The EU legislation states that employees should have 20 days paid holiday. UK regulation actually grants workers a higher entitlement of 28...

If the answer to most of these questions is “yes” then your worker is probably an employee:
Does the worker only work for you?
Do they work regular hours set by you?
Do they receive holiday or sick pay from you?
Do you provide them with the materials and tools they need to do their job?
Do they have to do the work themselves?
If you have answered yes to most of these you will probably need to set up a payroll scheme for them or add them to your existing scheme. Bells Payroll Services can help with this. Contact us on 020 8468 1087 to discuss the status of your workers and make sure you are compliant!...